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Hewlett Packard (HP) Crystal PnP Audio System Control Registers Free Driver Download
Modem / ISDN, Display, MEDIA, ...
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Crystal PnP Audio System Control Registers
Supported Operating Systems
Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 98SE, Windows ME, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows 2003, Windows Vista
Uploader Notes
These drivers are apparantly pretty hard to find, especially the sound card drivers which is integrated onto the motherboard.
Well hope it helps.
Uploaded By
Gary Triestman (DG Member) on 10/11/2000
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HPPavillion3100Drivers.zip (4.4 MB)
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"I was so excited to receive these labels with my new address! They turned out beautifully and the quality matched what I have come to expect from Tiny Prints. I like this design because it works equally well for formal cards -- like wedding and anniversary cards -- as well as for more informal notes. My mom saw them when they arrived and liked them so much she wants to order some too!"
"I really liked all the choices in design,and colors, and most of all styles as you can tell by all ones I ordered. Only thing I wish I could have picked the style of writing. I must trust that your designers know what's best. Thank you very pleased"
"Love these chalkboard address labels. The nod to chevron is a perfect touch. Love how customizable these are with fonts and sizes. Bonus: Tiny Prints' excellent customer service when I had trouble applying a code. Thank you!"
"I couldn't be happier with the Thank You card and matching address labels that I ordered through Tiny Prints. All of the recipients have sent me messages complimenting the card. I will be ordering again, without a doubt!"
"I used them as is and they turned out beautiful with nice quality paper and ink. I especially love the disappearing edges effect when used on a white envelope - the tree branch looks like its sloping down from the top of the envelope. I do wish the tree branch was not cut off on the right so that it maintains this lovely effect. Still very nice!"

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Two Waterbury regiments hit hard at Fredericksburg
The following article appeared in The Waterbury American on Dec. 26, 1862.
Letter from Hon. L. W. Coe.
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Boca Museum of Art501 Plaza Real, Boca Raton, FL 33432 In Mizner ParkT: 561.392.2500 F: 561.391.6410Email: email@example.com
Hours:Tuesday - Friday Saturday & SundayWednesday
Admission:MembersChildren(12 & under)AdultsSeniors(65 +)Students(with ID)
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As it is in every museum, a main goal of the institution is to engage people, most importantly, children. From class field trips to contests, the Museum goes one step further with the family-friendly program rightfully named Creation Station.
Sine 2012, the Museum ran this program for families with busy weekday schedules. It offered a weekend bonding and learning opportunity for children and parents. This was the last Creation Station and I was glad to have been a part of it.
Families learned about visual arts in a relaxed and fun manner by first viewing specific works in museum and then making an artwork themselves in the spirit of that piece. Activities included crafting a sculpture out of recycled objects, creating a collage, or solving a jigsaw puzzle. Each month Creation Station has a different activity/focus. Volunteers are on hand to assist families.
The artists in focus this time were Miriam Schapiro and James Rosenquist. Both of these artists have pieces, more specifically collages, that are part of the Museum's permanent collection.
Miriam Schapiro, (Canadian, 1923- ), Heart in the Heartlands, 1979, Fabric collage and acrylic paint on paper, 38 x 36 inches. Permanent Collection 2004.041. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Joshua Aber
JAMES ROSENQUIST, (American,1933- ),Sketch for Automobile Cover, 1971, collage with magazine pages, tissue paper, tape, crayon and pencil on paper, 15 x 22 inches. Permanent Collection 1993.265. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Steinman
This past Saturday I got to act as the volunteer that assisted families, I helped children soak everything in and create their own works of art.
When the first group came in, the girls were cautious of going any further because they had spotted the eerily life-like security guard resting down by the edge of the table: Duane Hanson's Security Guard.
This went on with every group that entered the museum, including two girls dressed as little princesses, crowns and all. Even the adults were taken by surprise when they discovered he was a sculpture. When it came time to create their collages many of the kids wanted to give the finished product to dad as a Father's Day gift. The themes ranged from golf to the sea. The possibilities were endless! I was able to help the kids cut out shapes, and come up with decorating ideas. The parents even got involved; one mom even said "I miss doing this! It is so much fun!" Not only was it fun for them but it was fun for me as well, I loved being able to see the glowing faces of the kids as they proudly showed off their work once it was completed. This just goes to show that all you really need to have fun is some inspiration, and maybe a little glue.
One of the most interesting pieces I've seen hanging in the Permanent Collection galleries here at the Boca Museum of Art is the painting by Larry Rivers. Even if you have never heard of this artist, the piece should be very familiar.
It is an homage to a very famous French painting by Eugène Delacroix from 1830, Liberty Leading the People, hanging in the new branch of the the Musée du Louvre in Lens, France, (which incidentally was defaced recently with no permanent damage).
Completed near the end of 1830, Delacroix depicted a very modern subject. This is the July Revolution, also known as the French Revolution of 1830. It was known as The Three Glorious Days in which the Parisians overthrew King Charles X, the last Bourbon king of France, and replaced him with Louis Philippe, Duke of Orléans.
While Delacroix was unable to personally take up arms in the uprising he fulfilled his patriotic duty through depicting the event in a dramatic and visually forceful painting. He wrote to his brother that October "I have undertaken a modern subject, a barricade, and although I may not have fought for my country, at least I shall have painted for her. It has restored my good spirits."
In this allegorical composition where the personification of Liberty is charging into battle atop a landscape strewn with corpses, every kind of Parisian is represented:
Delacroix was a leader in the Romantic Movement and the genuine and impassioned take he brought to this work of art embodied the noble truth of the uprising and the greatness of Parisian citizens.
Larry Rivers, a postwar American artist associated with pop art, is famous for reworking and reinterpreting classical paintings by mixing grand art and absurdity. While living in Paris in 1950, Rivers was influenced greatly by the large-scale paintings hanging in the Louvre and when he moved to New York afterward took up painting full time. He became what is known as a gestural realist.
Rivers' work combines loose gestural marks that encompass abstract expressionism with realistically rendered images drawn from history and popular culture. This piece by Rivers hanging in our gallery is a perfect example of this style of painting and a stunning addition to our permanent collection. Have a question about the Boca Museum of Art? Call us at (561) 392-2500 or send the Boca Museum an email.
Dorbani, Malika Bouabdellah. July 28: Liberty Leading the People. www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/july-28-liberty-leading-people.Lye, Harriet. Larry Rivers. American Center France. www.americancenterfrance.org.
1. Gregory A. Jones (Lakeland), Two-Piece Chair, 1997, acrylic and mixed media, Best in Show 1998
If you follow the Boca Raton Museum of Art at all you know about our annual juried competition, but do you really know what it's all about?
It's about supporting and promoting exposure for Florida artists and giving our community an opportunity to see what's happening in the arts in their own backyard.
It is a showcase of the best in emerging and professional artists in Florida, is the state's oldest annual juried competition and is a way for the museum to reinforce its commitment to local artists.
This year's accepted entries for the 62nd installment are installed right now through July 14th.
Started in 1951, this competition displays a variety of photographs, drawings, videos, paintings, sculpture and mixed media that come together to represent a myriad of artistic expression. While the competition has always had cash prizes, it wasn't until 1998 when the title of "Best in Show" was distinguished. Gregory A. Jones from Lakeland was the first to win this honor with his painting Two-Piece Chair (1.) and is still dominating similar competitions. Last year he won (for the third time) Best in Show at the 47th annual DeLand Outdoor Art Festival.
Our Best in Show winners represent local artistic talent who have achieved recognition in the arts beyond just the Boca Museum.
Carol Prusa is an artist from Boca Raton who is frequently featured in our annual exhibition and has been awarded several times. Her From our Belly, (4.) 2003 was awarded Best in Show but she has also won several Merit awards throughout the years. Most recently she was represented by Bernice Steinbaum Gallery in Miami (2011) as well as at Coleman Burke Gallery in Chelsea in New York City (2010) and she is now represented by Zadok Gallery in Wynwood, Miami.Another Boca winner from 2004 is Denise Moody Tackley with Is It So? #2 (5.). Her artwork deals with the deconstruction of the American feminine myth. Her work was most recently shown at the 10th International Open at Woman Made Gallery in Chicago. Lou Ann Colodny (6.) was the founding director of MoCA, Museum of Contemporary Art in North Miami and director of its precursor, COCA for 15 years. She has works in the permanent collection of the Miami Museum of Art, the Southeast Museum of Photography in Daytona, MoCA, Miami-Dade Community College, Miami-Dade Public Library Collection, and the Okaloosa-Walton College in Niceville. Colodny has exhibited all over South Florida and has made quite a name for herself with her videos, drawings, installations and photographic work.Pip Brant (8.), a fiber style artist, uses a plethora of found materials in her work. Brant has exhibited her work in the United States and abroad in Belfast, Ireland, Lithuania and London, England. She was awarded the South Florida Cultural Consortium for Visual and Media Arts for Tabled Reports.Vanessa Diaz's sculpture The Offering (12.) 2012 was last year's recipient of Best in Show. The mixed-media work is a combination of furniture pieces that come together to create a surreal yet organic piece which justly earned its title. Our juror's selections represent the best Florida artists have to offer and we relish the opportunity to present their creations to the public. Come on out to the current show to see this year's winner for his body of work, Geoff Hamel's (13) monumental colored pencil works.
Today is early into my third month interning at the Boca Museum of Art under Registrar Martin Hanahan. As an English major and Linguistic minor, people look at me oddly when I tell them the internship I pursued. But through my studies in English, I learned every facet of art is intertwined seamlessly, and we must pursue each type to experience what art is. Artists paint with many colors, writers paint with two.
Our words, in perfect black and white, show how colorful life is. And artists, with their cubism and their expressive modernism, offer an abstract sense of life that playfully incites our senses. The beauty of art is that it does not tell you what to think, or even how to think. It simply is. Just like music. So, after studying the great writers, I decided to pursue a different approach to the world of expressive awareness. I am drawn to art because it is quiet, but even the quietest painting, possibly in hues of blue, still sends our senses diving into an ocean of consciousness. Art, like literature, can affect society by presenting something we are afraid of, or by creating a calming space in which we find solace.
Either way, art, music, and literature are the catalysts that strip away fake and replace it with raw. Whether artist, writer, photographer, we tell the story of life boundlessly with no restrictions. We welcome consequences. We are renegades of the present. This is how I found myself in a museum instead of a library. I am surrounded by artifacts that tell of our history without words; silent pronouncements of truth. Quiet frames hang on quiet walls and tell stories of lovers, children, animals, trees. Loudly they spill their secrets, forever surrounded by a gold frame, in remembrance of a tender, experienced hand.
Last week I documented 13 old photographs: daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, and tintypes. I also stored 11 cameras dating from the Second World War to the 1960s. The photographs were produced in the 1800s; each "type" produced differently. Daguerreotypes (1840-1855) are extremely reflective photographs on polished silver. Ambrotypes (1855-1865) are not shiny like daguerreotypes, but matte, because the photograph emulsion is coated on glass with black paint that often cracks and darkens the picture.
Tintypes (1855-1900) are black painted tin- exposed. There is rarely any tarnish and it does not have a reflection. It doesn't come in an ornate case like the other two because it is not fragile. So the type of picture that goes on these artifacts usually contains an unsmiling, somber subject who looks like she or he has no idea what is going on. Pulled from the farm, or the church, or the kitchen, the subjects exude nothing artificial about them. In fact, you feel as though you are standing there, facing them (which we very well could be). Their attitude (or lack of) in the photographs sent my mind reeling. It is so different from the way we take pictures today- with our poses and our scrunched faces and our obscene gestures.
The myth about the camera stealing the soul feels very real with these pictures. For some reason, our technology often fails to gather the real soul of a person, possibly because the entire experience of photography has changed into point and click. Easy to capture moments, but there is something distinctly un-timless about them. Perhaps this is why there are so many programs that offer ways to alter photographs in an effort to lend them some authenticity.
Now, each moment is real, but sometimes moments are so on-the-surface that we fail to appreciate the way of life- the harshness of it, the cold and the hot, the good and the bad. When people took photos in the 1800s, their faces show of struggle, of reserved resignation, sometimes exultation or humble adoration. But in each person's face, there exists a question of the future. And this question creates a formidable distance between the person and the photographer.
Juxtaposed with the present, we pretend not to ask questions of the future because the answer is always the same- we don't know. Why did we stop searching in an effort to look in control? It is not more becoming for a person to take a beautiful picture that has lost all sense of wonder. The people in these old photographs are asking questions of everything, even themselves.
Pioneers, renegades of the present, their souls are wondering, wandering, losing, and finding. They are not afraid to show vulnerability or strength. Their experiences are genuine because each moment has its own breath and the wildness of the photographs emulate the wildness of their world. In a world where we attempt to control the uncontrollable, a sense of magic has flown away.
To find it, we must live in and breathe every moment without contention for the past, anxiety for the future, or resistance of the present. We must accept the query. Just as these forever-young pioneers in their gold frames asked questions of the future without abandoning the present or escaping to the past. We could learn to do the same, and avoid the midlife crisis of waking up in chains. Visit the Boca Museum of Art (561) 392-2500
Unknown artist, Portrait of a Young Girl, ca. 1850, daguerrotype, 3 x 2 ½ inches. Permanent Collection 1991.128F. Museum Purchase
Unknown artist, Portrait of a Woman in a Bonnet, ca. 1850, ambrotype, 4 ¾ x 3 ¾ inches. Permanent Collection 1991.128T. Museum Purchase
Unknown artist, Two Children, ca. 1850, tintype, 3 x 2 ½ inches. Permanent Collection 1991.128. Museum Purchase
Today is Tuesday, March 12, 2013. And today Martin, the Registrar at the Boca Museum, had me document each piece of the exhibition Jody Culkin: Refashioned. This exhibition subverts traditional functions of women's apparel. Now, Jody Culkin: Refashioned is slightly left of wacky, right of weird, and smack dab in the middle of wait, what, why?! Let me paint you a picture: mesh, broken glass, chains, bright fabric, water, light, cameras, and eyes.
Jody Culkin: Refashioned reveals the chains of women fashion, and reinvents them in a capricious light to expose the issue of fashion: our clothes can make us prisoners. Much of her inspiration came from the Victorian household she grew up in (inside information thanks to curator Kathy Goncharov, a close friend of Culkin's). So the contemporary artist refashioned pieces of art take modern daywear and transform them with a Victorian element.
As an active feminist, Culkin's art also contains elements of female anatomy. This image sparks confusion in our minds as we try to compartmentalize the vision of the art. But contemporary art is not meant to be compartmentalized, it has an agenda of its own, and a large amount of history to play with. There is a refashioned burka out of white mesh with little purple propellers on each sleeve. This may be so the wearer can fly away from her repression.
However, the onlooker will notice the gold rectangle as the eye piece and it creates a sense of suppressed, imprisoned, clothing that is not simply a woman's dress but her fabricated chains. And as we view this piece, we feel trapped, ensnared. A little to the right is a hanging chain of black mesh filled with broken glass. It begs the question, what kind of jewelry are your chains made from? Subversive, yes. Repressive, no!
As I fulfilled the task of documenting and measuring each piece of art, a few museum visitors took a look around. The immediate reaction of many was to turn and walk away- I actually heard "no, I don't like this" from a woman within the first 20 seconds looking around her. Other women would exclaim at how cute the purse with the roving eyes is, but they would silently pass by the more abrasive elements of the collection. I wanted to give them a tour so they could understand that this exhibit is meant to cause unease!
If only the women would have read the introduction to Jody Culkin: Refashioned they would have understood this art is not to look pretty. It is not to please the eye. It is to open the mind through the eyes. It is meant to make you feel. The exaggeration of the refashioned pieces is a call to arms: as a woman, how does our dress confine us? Does it present a feminine image that is meant to please the looker? Does our dress please us at all besides in the validation of the onlookers?
And which ogglers are we dressing to impress, exactly? How are we empowered when we display our bodies in this way? The exhibition itself exposes that if something is not "appealing" or "pleasant" to look at, our immediate reaction is to recoil. Does this look nice? No? Then I want nothing to do with it. How would you feel if people talked about you that way? And if we realize that we have the same reaction, wouldn't it be better to take a moment and let the art enter our brain, twist around our neurons and shoot something?
We cannot only appreciate the beautiful, the perfectly packaged. Most of it is just a mirage. Once we stop aiming for perfection and niceties we could accomplish something with our minds, our voice. Hence contemporary art, such as Jody Culkin: Refashioned, is an expression of where our world came from, the history of the upright Victorian society. And Jody Culkin: Refashioned is also a silent commentary on our reactions to something a contemporary artist refashioned to be less than perfect. Chains or shackles, our perception must break those gold and silver loops that keep us lost and mesmerized.


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You could have a leak in the line but it would lose pressure after pumping up. Do you know how many feet of water is in the well above the footer valve.
I have an in-basement one pipe shallow well pump that stopped pumping yesterday. The pump runs and the guage as it enters the exp. tank goes up to about 18-20 psi but just produces air. I have a hose bib valve/hose where the pump disch. line enters the tank and when I run the pump with the hose submerged it just bubbles. If I open the valve fully the pressure goes to zero, if I just crack it it holds pressure but no water. I've ruled out the pump and suspect a leak in the suction line. I replaced the foot valve in the well about 3 weeks ago because I heard the pump running in the night and figured it was either that or a leak. The last couple of days there was air in the lines in the morning and the pump was "growly" buut it pumped up and shut off. I've tried priming but nothing. Another thought was a stuck foot valve, but where is the air coming from?
Appreciate any help. Don't really want to dig up the line but that's my best guess at this time
You could have a leak in the line but it would lose pressure after pumping up. Do you know how many feet of water is in the well above the footer valve.
the well is full, probably 8" of water above the foot valve.
Eight inches or eight feet? Your post says inches.
sorry, 8 feet.
How far down to the water from the pump?
Since this happened after you made repairs and the problem is different than the last one, I would check what you did. Look for air leaks, which have no taste or odor and can't be seen either. The suction line is where the air would come from. Anywhere from where the pipe screws into the front of the pump to the footvalve.
And since this happened when you were using water, you may be pulling the water level down to the foot valve inlet, sucking air. Known as a dry well condition.
When you primed it, did hold water for say 5 minutes without you having to add more water? If not you have a leak and the foot valve is a prime suspect.
Why did you replace the old foot valve?
Click Here to learn how to correctly size or program a water softener.
CAUTION, as of Nov 12 2013 all YouTube videos showing how to rebuild a Clack valve have an error in them that can cause damage.


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Earplugs! by Jay Sankey - Added DVD Bonus: 5 BRAND NEW EFFECTS (DVD + Earplugs!) This is the best sponge ball magic video we've ever seen! Includes set of wacky sponge Earplugs!
Out of stock.
What You Get
You'll also learn four awesome full routines:
Ear Plugs comes complete with the 60-minute DVD and all the necessary sponge "ear plugs."
Have a question about this product?
Customer Reviews (showing 1 - 10 of 24)2 of 2 magicians found the following review helpful:
Well its commerial, humorous magic and its taught professionally...its pretty good Report this review
Pro Privacy ON (login to see reviewer names) on December 11th, 2010
Well like a lot of Sankey Magic, the methods are easy and his professionaly sublties you can pick up for his handlings are very nice. The tricks you learn are once again very Sankey-esque. Their methods are super simple to tell after watching if your a reasonably educated magician but Sankey creates his magic to fool spectators, not magicians, so its usable material. Is it worth $35 dollars? I wouldn't say so but you get some professional level advice, simple and effective routines, and if you just carefully watch his little sublties with his handling you can really gain a lot of knowledge. As for the 5 bonus tricks, you get a poor bill switch routine but some very workable bar tricks that are nice to have.
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Great, usable material Report this review
Verified buyer Pro Privacy ON (login to see reviewer names) on April 9th, 2010
This is a great sponge ball / cylinder instructional dvd. Sankey does an excellent job teaching each technique and trick step-by-step. There isn't anything really ground breaking here though, just the new sponge shape. I actually liked the bonus tricks more. If you are new to sponges this can be a good dvd to learn from.
Otherwise maybe you can pass it up
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Very good teaching aid Report this review
Verified buyer Pro Privacy ON (login to see reviewer names) on June 10th, 2004
Don't let the stars confuse you, this is a good dvd, for someone going into sponges. I wish I had it when I started out. Unfortunately this is not the next step as Jay states states it. There is only a few hinds for the seasoned act, but if your starting off in sponges, buy this dvd, it will help you a lot and help you avoid picking up nasty habits.
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Not good Report this review
Verified buyer Pro Privacy ON (login to see reviewer names) on October 3rd, 2012
I was expecting something more than just your run of the mill sponge ball DVD, perhaps humorous routines and instead it was more of a beginner overview of all the same sponge ball moves you probably already have on another DVD. As far as the "earplug" idea, it is good, but you could make your own from a sheet of yellow sponge material from your local craft store. In fact, the sponge earplugs are the exact material of craft store sponge material. They are a bit more dense than regular sponge balls which limits them a bit. Meaning, you can't squeeze quite as many ear plug sponge balls into your hand as you could regular sponge balls. I don't see this as a problem, just a minor limitation. However, I was very dissapointed in the DVD, and I could have made my own earplug sponges for a fraction of the cost.
There are much better sponge ball DVDs, such as:
Sponge Balls (World's Greatest Magic) - DVD (My favorite)
Diminishing Sponge Ball (Ball and DVD) by Ian Garrison - DVD (I really like this one too, as an add-on to WGM) SPONGE Starring Jay Noblezada (DVD + 4 Red Sponge Balls) (This is a very good intro to sponge balls. It is my understanding that Jay got his very first big restaurant gig by doing sponge balls)
Or, for less than 8 bucks, I think Daryls sponge ball DVD is much better:
Essentials in Magic Sponge Balls - DVD
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Comedy Report this review
Pro Privacy ON (login to see reviewer names) on April 8th, 2010
Ear Plugs are a cool alternative to the regular sponge balls. Depending on how you use them, they can add some comedy to your routine too. They are just as easy to handle and manipulate as the regular sponge balls and they squish nicely too. The only problem I have with them is the colour. Not that there is anything wrong with yellow, but it just isn't my personal favorite choice. As a bonus, Sankey also teaches you a few pretty cool effects that are done with other materials so basically you are getting a 2 for 1 deal here. If you'd like to change up your sponge routine, then pick some of these up.
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amazing quality Report this review
Pro Privacy ON (login to see reviewer names) on April 7th, 2010
These are awesome substitutes to sponge balls. Opening statement, flat out. Jay had these jumbo earplugs specially made to LAST!
I used to perform this as a full spongeball routine. They pack in your pockets but don't crease or fold, which is the best part of them. Most spongeballs just compress in your pocket and get all squarey. We don't want that. These will last. But I hate the jumbo load. It's way too big and bulky. Plus these are fairly thick material so it's really hard to palm more than one, let alone a FULL JUMBO ONE.
The DVD was really good. I think the introduction was one of the most interesting introductions to a magic DvD I've seen in a while. It's interesting to know how long ago this was originally filmed. But other than that, he goes very far into everything and teaches perfectly. Just grab the sponges and rock out.
Finally, the bonus section! Usually I don't like his bonus effects. But these were cool. The do as I do is awesome, as is re:cap. They are practical tricks and break the mood sort of, so it's fun to watch. Other than that, I should rate this as a 5. Good luck!
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Great stuff. Report this review
Pro Privacy ON (login to see reviewer names) on April 3rd, 2010
I love how Jay has translated the sponge ball genre into gimmicks which make logical sense- earplugs, an everyday object.
The tricks are varied and excellent and as always Jay teaches every trick in detail. A great buy!
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very fun. Report this review
Verified buyer Pro Privacy ON (login to see reviewer names) on April 2nd, 2010
These are great to use as a sponge routine. Sankey teaches some great routines and moves and it is fun to perform. I always carry this on me when I do close up.
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Jay Sankeys-Earplugs......*@&"ing Rule!!!! Report this review
Pro Privacy ON (login to see reviewer names) on November 12th, 2008
I'm sorry everyone but the regular sponge balls are not even in the same league as this product! I don't know what the fool was talking about and giving the product 1 star. Jay is hilarious,the sponges are so cool and durable as well as being very funny and extremely visual. If you don't own this you have no business calling yourself a magician!
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Jay is the BEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Report this review
Verified buyer Pro Privacy ON (login to see reviewer names) on April 16th, 2007
I was first a little nervous about the bad review on this but when I got it I was shocked! He taught really creative routines. So if you want something that is easy and with no gimmicks this is the trick for you.
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Mucoid Plaque
When you should start to see mucoid plaque
If you are doing the BEST Option, the majority of users generally report seeing mucoid plaque on the second to third day. This is because the intestines take time to empty of solid food and begin the cleansing process. In fact one can choose to do an additional five days of liquids–only fasting, for a total of 10 days. Many people who have done this have found the most mucoid plaque actually comes out on days six to nine.*
Why you may not see plaque while doing the Colon Cleansing Kit™
Mucoid plaque comes in different forms from old, dark, rubber-tire looking material to a fine, thin, light brownish film and everything in between.* To understand this better, imagine a frying pan. After its first use, there may be just a film over its surface and you might elect not to clean it. If left there after many uses, a thick coating, that is more visible, will be built up. It is much easier to get off the thin film as compared to the encrusted layers that happen after much use and little cleaning. When you do your colon cleansing, it is not possible to know if you have a thin or thick amount of mucoid plaque on your intestinal walls, and therefore when it finally comes off, you may or may not notice it, according to how much was there. In the rare case of someone who has done a lot of cleansing and has always eaten a healthy, fibrous diet, they may experience no plaque at all, and yet they too gain a benefit of moving out any toxins before they build up.* It is a little like, if we washed our face yesterday, why wash today? I can't see anything – yet. If we don't wash at all, it doesn't take too long before we begin to notice the build-up on our skin. Cleansing is important not only for our external skin, but also our internal lining.* This is what a good colon cleanse can do for you.


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IT was a sobering thought for the 15,792 dejected fans to ponder as they left Hunter Stadium on Saturday night.
Have the Newcastle Knights hit rock bottom?
After their 24-14 loss to Gold Coast, Newcastle's seventh in 11 games this year and third on the spin, the Knights have slipped to the 11th rung on the NRL ladder.
They have scored fewer points than any team in the competition and will be without talismanic skipper Kurt Gidley for the rest of the campaign.
This week they head to Suncorp Stadium to face second-placed Brisbane, after which – barring a remarkable form reversal – they will in all likelihood be four points adrift of the top eight at the halfway point in the season.
This would have been disappointing in any circumstances.
But given the hype before a ball was kicked this year, Newcastle's inability to measure up to expectations is rapidly descending into the realms of disaster.
Let's pause and take a look at the big picture.
Last year Newcastle were a top-eight team under Rick Stone who punched above their weight and in general played an attractive, enterprising brand of football.
To reach the play-offs they had to overcome no small measure of adversity, in particular a cleanout of players commissioned by new owner Nathan Tinkler's incoming coach Wayne Bennett, the most successful tactician in the game's history.
No stone was left unturned for Bennett. Players he did not want were moved on, regardless of whether they were under contract.
Representative stars Darius Boyd, Danny Buderus, Kade Snowden, Timana Tahu and Adam Cuthbertson were recruited.
The master coach brought in his own staff, who settled into modern training facilities.
The consensus was that the Knights would be big improvers.
Bookmakers soon installed them as premiership favourites and almost 18,000 supporters took advantage of Hunter Sports Group's cut-price season tickets, and their hopes were justifiably high.
Yet somehow this team have gone backwards.
Not only are they struggling to get results, but the brand of football they have been playing would cure insomnia.
Bennett has been intent on stripping Newcastle's game plan back to basics, hoping to develop a structure that will hold up consistently under pressure.
But instead of outgrinding their opponents and wearing them down, the Knights have become dour, predictable plodders bereft of razzle-dazzle.
On paper, Newcastle still appear to have a line-up capable of challenging for a top-four finish.
There is ample time to turn things around.
But on evidence thus far, only their most parochial diehards would be optimistic about such an outcome.
The real worry for fans, already simmering with discontent, is that the worst could be yet to come.
This was supposed to be the year in which the Bennett-Tinkler dream ticket transformed Newcastle into an NRL dynasty.
Finally the Knights, who for 24 years had run on the smell of an oily rag, had the resources to match any rival club.
There would be no more excuses.
It all sounded good in theory.
The reality has been vastly different.
One of the most eagerly awaited crusades since the Knights' inception in 1988 is in danger of becoming the club's greatest anticlimax.
The suspicion remains that if anyone can turn Newcastle around, it is Bennett.
Before that can happen, however, they need to reach the point where the only way is up. Rock bottom.
Knights fans can only hope they are already there.


text: Enhance the look and feel of your deck or patio with attractive, practical storage options from Taylor Gifts! Update the look of your patio or deck and get organized today. Taylor Gifts selection of dual purpose outdoor storage items can enhance the look of your deck while creating new space. The boxes themselves are beautifully made, durable pieces built to withstand the elements. Use practical deck boxes to store everything on your property that needs a home: garden accessories, pool accessories, grill accessories, tools, flip flops, shoes, table covers, toys, furniture cushions, party supplies and much more. Place versatile deck boxes anywhere for a natural look and they'll protect your belongings from weather, pests, sun bleaching, theft and any unpleasant surprise the outside world might serve up.


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Published October 18, 2013
VOA film reporter Penelope Poulou talks to On Assignment's Rebecca Ward about two new films that explore the role of women in male-dominated societies. The films are The Patience Stone by Afghan director Atiq Rahimi and Wadjda by Saudi Arabia's first female filmmaker, Haifaa al-Mansour.
"On Assignment" is a weekly behind-the-scenes look at the VOA reporters and producers reporting the news from around the world.
Broadcast every Friday, On Assignment showcases the best of VOA reporting across the globe, giving front-line journalists the chance to share their experiences from the field, including some of the most challenging and dangerous trouble spots in the world. Each week, hosts Imran Siddiqui and Alex Villarreal give viewers a backstage pass to meet our reporters in the field and hear the stories behind the headlines.
On Assignment This Week:
"Rwandans Still Hurting 20 Years After Genocide"
"Emotions High as Rwandan Genocide Survivors Reflect"
"Did Western World Fail Rwanda?"
"In India, Gang Rape 'Punishment' Stirs Outrage"
That plus Artists with disabilities, in this week episode of On Assignment.
How To Watch Us:
Watch Our Latest Show: Windows Media | MP4
Watch Us
Follow Us On


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The 1870 census commenced on June 1, 1870, and was taken under the provisions of the Census Act of May 23, 1850. The Secretary of Interior appointed General Francis A. Walker Superintendent of the Ninth Census on February 7, 1870.
The 1870 census marked the first enumeration following the end of slavery and, therefore, counted all inhabitants of the United States on a single population schedule. The 1870 enumeration was completed on August 23, 1871, and a portion of the data was processed using a machine invented by Charles W. Seaton.
At its conclusion, the 1870 census reported the U.S. resident population as 38,558,371, a 26.6 percent increase from 1860.


text:
- Learn About UBRelated Linksreasons to choose UB
- Get Ready to ApplyRelated LinksDid you know?
- For Accepted StudentsRelated LinksDid You Know?
The International Admissions Ambassadors are UB students who are here to help you!
If you have a question about the admissions process or about UB, your Ambassador has the answer. Whether you communicate with your Ambassador by telephone or email, you can be sure that there is someone at UB to talk to!
Learn their names, where they are from, what they are studying
and their favorite thing about UB. You can read even more about
them and their experience at UB in their Ambassablogs.
Hometown: Guangzhou, China
Major: Accounting & Mathematics
What I love about UB: "There are great opportunities for international students and UB respects and appreciates diversity."
Hometown: Gwang Ju, Korea
Major: Biological Sciences with a concentration in Pre-health
What I love about UB: "I love the new ice-rink! Whenever I'm stressed I can head over with my ice skates and just glide – for free! Definitely great use of the weather."
Hometown: Turin, Italy
Major: Linguistics & International Studies
What I love about UB: "The multicultural environment that UB has and the trips organized by ISSS."
Hometown: Chabahar, Sistan Baluchestan, Iran
Major: Finance
What I love about UB: "Alfiero, the house of businessmen."
Hometown: PoHang City, South Korea
Major: Management Finance & Economics
What I love about UB: "A lot of opportunities where you can find what you are good at!"
Hometown: Imphal, India
Major: Industrial Engineering
What I love about UB: "The diversity in student population & the humongous opportunities available."
Hometown: Changsha, China
Major: Finance
What I love about UB: "Meeting new people with different stories everyday!"
Hometown: Bangladesh
Major: Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering
What I love about UB: "The gorgeous buildings and cultural diversity!"
Hometown: Hong Kong/ Myanmar
Major: Science & Business
What I love about UB: "There are so many student opportunities because of the different organizations on campus."
Hometown: New Delhi, India
Major: English & French
What I love about UB: "The amazing professors in the English department!"
Hometown: Korea
Major: Business Administration
What I love about UB: "Basketball team in Division I NCAA."
Hometown: Fujian, China
Major: Accounting
What I love about UB: "This is a place where your talent is truly appreciated and your hard work absolutely pays off! I discovered so much about myself and I believe you will too!"


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Early mistakes and all-around youth hurt Ripon High in its non-league finale against Argonaut in Jackson Friday.
STOCKTON - In the final seconds of Friday's non-league game at Podesto Field, Weston Ranch High was hoping for overtime.
There is a lot riding on East Union High's final non-league contest Friday against Ceres, but head coach Mike James feels no need to place additional emphasis on this one.
If the Manteca Buffalos are going to open the Valley Oak League season with an unblemished 3-0 mark they are going to have to stop a talented and proven Enochs High offensive unit.
Jesse Rodriguez has won many games as a head coach in the East Bay. His first varsity victory as Lathrop High's head coach ranks highly on his list.
With the first few weeks of his senior season in the bag, Manteca High's football squad is off to a solid 2-0 start, and the team is rejoicing in a big decision its leading rusher made after his freshman season at Escalon High.
Scenes from Saturday's homecoming game against Ripon and Ripon Christian.
The Manteca freshman football team found out no lead is safe Thursday in a 30-21 loss to Tracy in non-league action at Guss Schmiedt Field.
RIPON – Ripon Christian realized that they were in for a huge challenge, but that did not detour the Knights from holding the Ripon Indians at bay over the first 20 minutes of the 5th Annual Ripon Bowl. Its ability to hold Ripon wouldn't last, as the Indians' defensive unit sparked the squad, led by a pair of interception returns for touchdowns by Cole Herrin in a 44-0 blowout home win for the Indians Saturday.
It seemed like it would take forever for Lathrop High to record the first football victory, but it surely didn't take long this season, as the Spartans rolled up to Sacramento and came home with a 28-21 victory over McClatchy High Saturday for the first win in Lathrop history.
Tracy High was on its way to beating traditional rival Manteca Friday at Guss Schmiedt Field for the second straight year, and this one was going to be a shocker.
STOCKTON - East Union did just enough Friday to escape Podesto Field with a 16-13 non-league victory over Bear Creek.
Things were looking mighty bleak for Sierra High when the visiting Granada Matadors of Livermore jumped out to an early two-touchdown lead.
WESTON RANCH – With four minutes remaining in the third quarter Weston Ranch flexed its muscle, cutting Tokay High's lead to 21-14, but the Tigers responded instantly with quarterback Zac McCurdy racing 80-yards on the ensuing snap, distancing Tokay for good in a 42-21 win Friday at Weston Ranch.
Never mind the final score.
RIPON – Trey Ozenbaugh joined the Ripon Christian football staff on a whim.
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tv listings
9 a.m. Talk: Sports Highlights (d.; episode 227, on Cox cable 47 in Newport News and Verizon FiOs 17 ).--NNPS
9 a.m. Motorsports: NASCAR Sprint Cup practice (at Pocono).--Speed
10 a.m. Golf: Women's British Open third round (in Fife, Scotland).--ESPN2
10 a.m. Motorsports: NASCAR Truck Series: Pocono Mountains 125 qualifying.--Speed
10:30 a.m. Football: Nov. 1999: Heritage vs. Hampton.--LSC 48
11:30 a.m. Motorsports: NASCAR Sprint Cup "Happy Hour."--Speed
Noon Basketball: Alumni Legends League: North Carolina at D.C. (d.).--CSN
Noon Golf: WGC Bridgestone Invitational third round (in Akron, Ohio).--ESPN2
12:30 p.m. Football: Carolina Panthers training camp.--WVEC 13
1 p.m. Baseball: May 1999: Kecoughtan vs. Bethel.--LSC 48
1 p.m. Motorsports: NASCAR Truck Series: Pocono Mountains 125.--Speed
1 p.m. Tennis: Bet-at-home Open final: Marcel Granollers vs. Juan Monaco (d. in Kitzbuhel, Austria).--Tennis Ch.
2 p.m. Golf: WGC Bridgestone Invitational third round.--CBS: WTKR 3, WTVR 6
2 p.m. X Games: Skateboard Vert final, Real Snow Back Country, Street League skateboarding.--ESPN
2 p.m. Golf: Web.com Tour: Mylan Classic third round (in Canonsburg, Pa.).--Golf
3 p.m. Motorsports: AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship(in Hurricane Mills, Tenn.).-- NBC: WAVY 10, WWBT 12
3 p.m. Tennis: Citi Open semifinal: John Isner vs. Dmitry Tursunov (in D.C.).--ESPN2
3:30 p.m. Baseball: Atlanta at Philadelphia.--Fox: WVBT 43, WRLH 35


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SBN Staff
Prepared for anything
As president of Burnett Staffing Specialists, Burnett could have freaked out when her business plummeted from $63 million in revenue in 2000 to $37 million in both 2002 and 2003. But she was used to this; it was just another dip in the ride.
She manages with the mindset that a recession could hit any day. By closing offices, cutting staff and watching expenses, she remained profitable during those difficult years, and revenue grew to $58 million last year, a 57 percent increase over 2003.
Smart Business spoke with Burnett about how she manages her business so it can grow but still stay afloat when encountering murky economic waters.
How do you manage growth?
We run our company debt-free, and we want to make sure that that's important.
We run our company fairly lean in the standpoint of we try to run it as though there's a recession around the corner. We're not frivolous with our money, and we keep a lot of money in the company. We finance our own payroll. We don't borrow any money.
Business owners sometimes overexpend, and they start borrowing money, and then a recession comes along, and then they're in real trouble. I've seen so many of my competitors have to sell because they hit the limit on their line of credit, and they can't borrow any more money.
How do you stay debt-free?
If you're going to grow, you need to be able to pay for your growth. We never open an office and borrow money to do it. We've always had enough money to afford to pay the rent on another office.
If you go into debt to pay for an office, and the office doesn't work, and you've borrowed the money to do it, then you have a double problem you have a failure of an office, and then you have debt on top of it.
Watch expenses. I look at that American Express bill every month and every item. My staff knows that I'm going to do that because there are people that will take advantage of corporate credit cards. I look at the phone bills to make sure that we're not having excessive long distance. I've had people in the past who've called all their relatives during the daytime.
We watch those kinds of things. We watch expenses. That's very important.
Good times won't last forever. People forget it. When the good times start rolling, they say, 'Hey, this is going to last forever,' and it is not. This is a rollercoaster. People have to understand that.
How do you correct those people problems when they arise?
Let them go as soon as possible. One of the biggest problems that business owners have is hanging on to mistakes for too long. When you know that you've made a serous hiring mistake, first you have to analyze, why is this person not doing well?
Is it a training issue? Or the office they're in? Or the manager they're working with? Or is there a personality conflict? What is that problem?
If you determine that the person simply is not the right person for the job because of their work habits or attitudes or whatever, then cut your losses and move on. One of the biggest mistakes I've made as a business owner is keeping people way too long and hoping that they will get better. Then the staff says when you let them go, 'What took you so long?'
The staff sees that this person is not cutting it. They have more respect for a management that lets mistakes go versus letting that mistake continue to sit there.
One bad apple spoils the whole bunch; therefore, you have one bad person in the office, it kind of spoils everybody.
What inhibits a company from growing?
One of the things that keeps a company from growing is when your staff doesn't think that the management is working as hard or as smart as they are. We've always led by example. We're first in, last out.
They know that I'm out there selling the company constantly. I make about 120 company visits a year to clients. I make speeches. I'm out there publicizing the company constantly. They know that I'm out there working as hard as I can.
For business owners, when things start going well, they start playing golf, and they start coming in late and leaving early. Your staff notices those things, and they think, 'Well, why am I working so hard if they're not willing to work so hard?'
I never ask them to do something that I'm not willing to do.
HOW TO REACH: Burnett Staffing Specialists, www.burnettps.com
Jim Lites
Hire and empower.
First and foremost, I like really intelligent people. Personality is really important, don't get me wrong, but brains can't be beat.
Intelligence is really important in business. It isn't just raw intellectual capability, it's the ability to understand problems, read other people and juggle 9,000 things.
Hire good people, give them responsibility and then let it go. They know that I won't throw them under the bus if things go wrong. Everybody handles it differently.
I don't have the patience or the mindset to spend a lot of time going over financial statements, even though it's important to do. I've learned to hire a really good CFO and trust them and trust what they're creating and how they handle the statements.
Make family yours and those of your employees a priority.
You can measure success a lot of different ways, but it's very hard to lead people if you're not sensitive to the issues that go on in their lives outside the hours they spend with you. You don't get any of that if you don't understand your people.
Communicate with them really well. Get to know their families. I have an open-door policy, and I know that sounds a little trite, but I interact with them. I try my best to be a regular guy. I stay away from closed doors.
I've seen very few successful executives in any business who are successful in business and unsuccessful in their personal lives. You're not well-rounded unless you actively participate in your own family's lives because what are you then? Just another suit.
I grew up with a father who worked very hard, and he always had time for me, and I try to do the same thing with my children. Pay attention to your family. Take care of your children. Be a good spouse. Listen. Get away when you can.
Don't immerse yourself in (business) because it will burn you out.
Learn to let go.
I tend to develop from within and push a lot of people out of the nest good people that have gone on to other teams or businesses who have been really successful. I may have wanted to keep them, but it's better for their development to move on.
Don't be afraid of it. One of the people I worked for early in my career was always upset if they heard anyone talking about employment with another company.
It always seemed funny to me because I see it almost as a compliment. You hate to lose your best people, but from a management perspective, a little change is good sometimes.
Having people move and change isn't a bad thing, and I'm never offended by people wanting to get ahead who work for me. Sometimes their career path may be blocked by really good people in front of them.
Keep your ego in check.
Great people can be involved in businesses that fail. Lots of things can bring companies down. A lot of times, it's leadership at the top.
Some of the pitfalls are forgetting the principles that made you successful in the first place. Principles that got them to those situations sometimes go out the door. Ego begins to drive decision-making as opposed to sound business principles. That's sometimes fatal.
They're touched by celebrity, and they forget the reasons they were successful in other businesses and do things they would never do don't empower their people, don't stick to a plan; get amnesia, we call it. Amnesia can be a real problem 'Oh, I forgot I was told that.'
Learn to delegate.
It comes over time. Some people can't do it and don't like to do it and can still be successful. I never had the time to not do it.
It's so many little tasks that have to be accomplished to run a successful, $100 million business as large as ours. You can't do it all yourself, nor should you.
I'm a conductor. I orchestrate, listen and go.
Be honest with yourself and others.
Go with your instincts. Try your best to evaluate and put the bullshit meter on people's ideas, because there can be a lot of hype. Stay true to yourself and try to be honest.
I have to manage down, and I have to manage up. I have an owner, and I'm only one of any number of businesses he's involved with. For every issue I have, he has 20, so don't take him everything that you might. You learn what to inform him of.
You have to have the balls courage is a better term to stand up to your own boss and tell him the truth. Eventually, if you don't, and you sweep problems under the rug, they come back to haunt you.
If you go in and 'yes' the things they're suggesting all the time, you can get in trouble, and it can be a problem. If you're delivering news that's unpopular, you're better off delivering it than sugarcoating it or worse, ignoring it.
Have fun.
Try to have fun at it. People are attracted to fun. They're attracted to laughter. They're attracted to a sense of humor. You get more out of people if you try your best to spend some time with them.
Whether you're in a CPA firm, or doing what we're doing, if you're the CEO and you're the boss, you want people to relate to you, so you better have some fun doing it or you're not going to, ultimately, be successful.
HOW TO REACH: The Dallas Stars, www.dallasstars.com
Molding success
As an adult, while working as a teacher and keeping books for local plastics companies on the side, one of those manufacturers left town, claiming there wasn't money in Houston. Faulk's entrepreneurial flair kicked in again, and she started her own business.
"I said, 'This is a great opportunity. I'm a young, healthy woman that is not afraid to work, and if I can't make this work, I can always go back to teaching," the president and CEO of A&C Plastics Inc. says. "I'll always have a roof over my head, so what's the problem here?"
She saved $5,000, got an answering service and started "just kind of playing Monopoly and built it up from there." She and her 37 employees work by the philosophy that they sell service and throw in the plastic for free, and that's paid off. A&C posted $16.5 million in revenue last year, up 27 percent over 2004.
Smart Business spoke with Faulk about growing a company while growing as a leader.
What most inhibits a company from growing?
If you try to grow too fast, you can actually grow yourself out of business. You see all this business you can get, but you don't have the capital to (act) on it, so you overextend yourself with your vendors. You don't watch your cash flow. You're not watching your spending. It's a domino effect.
You've got to take baby steps one step at a time to get you to the next level. Don't try to be the front runner and not have the cash flow, the inventory and your expenses to back it up.
How do you harness that energy?
You don't want to do a little bit of everything and a whole lot of nothing. Stay focused on what got you where you are.
You've got to stay within your means but take risks to increase your cash flow and your business. You always have somewhere to go. You know it's out there, and you know how to do it.
How do you lead growth?
If your employees know the market and know their job, they're going to take you to that next level. If you don't know what your competitors are doing, you're kind of just chasing your tail. You're in your own little world. You think you know what you're doing, but you don't.
You have to be aware of what's going on around you and how the market's going. You stay ahead of the market. You try to act.
What qualities do you look for in employees?
I hire for attitude and I train for skill, because you can teach anybody with a great attitude how to do something. Attitude is 85 percent of your job, but if you have 85 percent skill and a bad attitude, you're dead in the water.
How do you gauge attitude?
You never know anybody until you've worked with them or lived with them. We give them different kinds of tests, and then we give them a job description and we always put on there more than what we're going to expect out of them.
We watch them. What are they willing to do? How do they react to a lot of questions? I want to hire people who are looking for an opportunity and don't just want to be on the payroll.
How do you nurture and empower employees?
Get out there and get your hands dirty. Go out there and be visible to all your employees and speak to them. Be hands-on, and let them know that you know who they are, even if it's just by name.
The most important thing is putting your employees in the position they're best at. They know they have the opportunity to grow with the company to the next level, which is where I come in and let them know, this is where you are, this is where you can go.
How do you grow as a leader?
Always be a student in your own business. You're selling service. Stay in tune to your customers' needs and your employees' needs. Anyone can be replaced. Even the president and CEO of a company can be replaced.
My dad was a great inspiration to me. He always said, 'All you have to do is get up early and stay late.' It comes down to getting up early and staying late and loving what you're doing and staying focused. It's not a job. It's a game - it's a personal game.
HOW TO REACH: A&C Plastics Inc., www.acplasticsinc.com
Mapping success
The company does subsurface mapping for oil and fuel companies and grows by adding crews of new equipment and about 45 people. With such a hefty price tag for each expansion, this president and CEO has to keep his finances in check and cultivate his 468 employees so they're ready to step into new positions when clients require more crews.
His leadership skills are paying off. The company added three to four crews in the last year and a half and grew its revenue to $30.9 million last year, a 53.7 percent increase over 2004.
Smart Business spoke with Whitener about how he keeps his employees and finances in check to lead growth.
What most inhibits a company from growing?
When you look at the real problems out there, it's market conditions and having qualified personnel.
When the market's good, it's much easier to be on a growth or a steady pattern. When demand is down, there's not a lot we can do about it.
Your hope is to keep the very best that you have of the personnel. You have to call on your more experienced and better people to carry more of the load to keep costs down through difficult times.
How do you maintain morale during hard times?
We just buck up and work our way through it and still keep some of the rewards for the personnel that are doing the job, even though it is tough times. You still have to let the employees know that you appreciate what they are doing.
Even though you're not in a very high money-making mode, what they're doing is keeping the company going for the time in the future when we have the opportunity to make a good return on the revenue.
How do you financially prepare for growth?
You have to really balance your debt. Hopefully your business is at such a level that internally you're generating cash and you're not overextending yourself in the growth mode that shadows either one of these, whether it be the borrowing or using up all your cash to generate the growth.
There's a fine line there balancing all three of those in order to keep the growth going and keep enough cash to make sure you don't have any cash problems and do just enough debt if things turn, you can manage that debt.
How do you maintain that balance?
Every time an opportunity becomes available to us, we weigh all three of those. We have to review where we are cashwise, where we are debtwise and whether we want to take on additional debt or if we have enough cash being generated internally to at some point go out and say, 'OK, six months from now, we anticipate this cash expenditure putting out this new operation and we feel we can do that without taking on additional debt.'
How do you make decisions regarding growth?
Take advantage of the opportunities when they become available. If the business is there, you need to make the decision quickly and take advantage of it.
You want to look at the positive side of it on what opportunities are there for the company? What opportunities are there for the personnel? And what opportunities are there for the investors?
On the other hand, you have to look at if there's a downturn eight months from now, where will we be? Can we service this debt? What will we do with the personnel? What will we do with the equipment? You have to weigh the pluses and minuses.
How do you get employees to buy into your decisions?
That's the simpler part. You have your plan laid out, and you present it to them. 'This is what we're doing. This is what's happening. This is when we're going to do it.' People have enough faith that they've seen it in the past that this is what's going to happen, so everybody just moves forward.
If you went in there and started asking employees, 'Well what do you think? What should we do?' not a lot would get done. As a CEO, you have to formulate the plan for the company, take responsibility for that plan, and go in and get the employees to execute that plan for you.
How does that leadership style help the company grow?
Being able to lead the company in the right direction is critical. A lot of times, even in our market right now where demand is very high, people get complacent and say, 'I've got all that I can handle right now. We're doing great.'
It takes the CEO to step up and say, 'Well look, we need to do more. We need to step out here. We need to put another crew out. We're going to do it by such and such a date, and this is how we're going to do it.'
Get everybody in the frame of mind that this is what we're doing and we're moving forward and keep the company moving.
HOW TO REACH: TGC Industries Inc., www.tgcseismic.com
Growing from nothing
He created a growth strategy with the help of his mentor, and that small company grew into Enerco Group Inc., a global manufacturer with 100 employees.
Balancing optimism with risk, and investing both his time and money during the past two decades, Haire personally guaranteed EGI's growth.
He began with a risky plan to maintain the company's distribution channels while opening a new one to reach the retail market. He guided the marketing and development efforts of a heater line to meet the needs of customers who worked out in the cold, such as dockworkers and outdoorsmen.
That portable heater line propelled the company into the retail market through a combination of product development and repackaging while also targeting both large and small retailers. Today EGI's products are found in Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Tractor Supply and Lowe's as well as at smaller, independent stores.
Haire drove product innovation and promoted outstanding customer service in order to make EGI successful in both the distribution and retail venues, but the company soon faced an obstacle.
Many customers were using the outdoor portable heaters inside, which left them at risk for carbon monoxide poisoning. To combat this, EGI developed the Buddy line of heaters, which featured an oxygen depletion shut-off to make them safe for indoor usage.
The company's diversified customer base has kept the business growing, but it has also allowed Haire to keep operations based in Cleveland, despite pressure to move them overseas.
To continue growing in the future, Haire blends veteran employees with new blood to promote different perspectives and brainstorming new ideas. He also plans to continue addressing the needs and solving the problems of EGI's customers.
These strategies are paying off, as EGI has grown by about 35 percent each of the past few years, and looks forward to many more successful years to come.
How to reach: Enerco Group Inc., (216) 916-3000 or www.enerco.com
Driving growth
He knew those were the things he needed to get the company back on track, so he chose to invest even more in them and found other areas in which to reduce costs.
"Getting the right people and making sure they have the right resources and environment is the primary way you orient for that growth," Brewer says.
His strategy paid off, and the company ended 2005 with $56.4 million in revenue, a 49 percent increase over 2002. Smart Business spoke with Brewer about how he invested in his 125 employees to grow Adams Golf, a designer and distributor of premium golf clubs.
How do you prepare for growth?
It's having the right people in the right places and allocating resources to those areas, because resources are never unlimited. Quality people are never as plentiful as you like, so you cherish every quality employee you can get.
Then you make decisions about how you're going to allocate resources and what areas you're going to focus on because you can't focus on everything. If you do, you'll be average at a lot of things, and if you chase every opportunity that runs at you, you might not catch any of them.
What do you look for in potential employees?
It's hard to find good people because that's such a key resource. It's a challenge of any growing business, and it's one of those classy problems that you like to have. We look for passion, integrity, drive, intelligence, a fit with the culture here.
We're a relatively small business. Friends and friendships have developed, and you don't want to interfere with that based on the quality of hires. We've had some people come through that were clearly bright people and excellent backgrounds, but they didn't appear to fit with the culture. I wouldn't support us hiring those individuals because the negative effects would outweigh what they could provide.
We're better off to keep looking until we get that perfect fit. Getting the right people into the organization is probably the most important thing.
The only thing I know in my heart of hearts that I've done a good job at is attracting good people early on and retaining them during the bad years when the business was really struggling. We were able to keep and motivate some good people, so when we got our financial act back together, got our product line back together, those individuals were still here.
They were battling hard by then, and that allowed us to move forward.
How do you retain employees?
It's about trust treating them well, open environments. In a time of crisis, everybody wants leadership and direction, but you also need to identify and trust the individuals. It was mutual. They knew how highly I felt for them and how much respect I had for them, and trust, even though none of our results were that good at the time.
We would talk openly about the difficulties that we faced and what the other opportunities were for them, both personally and professionally, and we agreed to stay and stick it out together.
How do you differentiate your products from those of the competition?
We play two basic product games in our business. We play leapfrog, which is where there is a clear technological trend in the industry, such as the size of driver heads, and we try to use our size as an advantage to be faster to the market in the next evolution just try to stay one step ahead of the competition.
The other area, which is more exciting and rewarding when you get it right, is delivering true innovation. Being the first to enter that category gives you a significant advantage.
We've identified a niche, innovated to deliver better product into that, moved aggressively into it, and we've committed fully.
How do you drive innovation?
We're relatively aggressive. We will take some risks. We will push. We don't want to take a lot of time and come out with a product that matches others. That isn't the key to success. Each product we do has to have a clear reason why it exists in the world because the world doesn't need another me-too product.
You have to make sure you put the resources in the right area. Product is a key area that we try to differentiate our business, and if you look at how we've spent our money, R&D is the primary area where we're constantly funding.
How does investing in people and resources help you grow the business?
Happy consumers and market share, which then turn into top line and bottom line growth for the business. You can feel inside the organization when we're getting stronger organizationally. You can tell when you're on the right direction the quality of people, what they're working on, their attitudes.
Sooner or later, that turns into product and tour count growth. That turns into e-mails coming in from people who are using your product, and from there to market share, and from there to financial metrics.
How to reach: Adams Golf, www.adamsgolf.com
Thomas W. Stephenson Jr.
Know where you want to go.
To start a company and grow it, you have to have a vision and you have to know where you're trying to take the company. But the world has a way of not working out exactly the way you plan it, so you have to have that vision, that passion, that goal for what you're trying to do, but I think you also have to let the real world intrude on that.
You have to learn from what you're doing, from your successes and your mistakes. You have to have a vision, but you have to temper that vision with real data from the world.
Try to do the best you can by your customers, by your employees, by your investors, by your vendors the people that have a real vested interest in your franchise, the people that you have great relationships with. You do the best you can with each of those groups. If you do that well and conduct yourself as honestly and truthfully as you can, then you're going to have a pretty good company.
Grow with a purpose.
You don't want to ever grow for the sake of growth. You want to grow because you're filling a market niche that exists. The best way to grow is because you're answering or fulfilling a market void out there.
The first thing to look at is, are you really growing because there is something you're doing better for the consumer than some other way he could get that good or service? If you are, that's pretty healthy growth. If not, you have to scratch your head and ask why you're trying to grow.
The second thing I think is equally important is you have to be able to manage that growth. There are all sorts of companies that had great ideas, that expanded too fast and couldn't really manage the growth. When we grow, we look at two things. We look at new units, but we also look to get better and better performance out of our existing units so that we're growing internally. You have to be able to manage that growth well and not just put up new units.
Managing growth is difficult because, by definition, you're taking on more and more responsibility. Your people have to do more and more. You're still looking outside to bring people into your organizations, so managing that process is not easy.
Success brings success. We've had all sorts of people come to us and want to join our company because they like what we're doing and see what we're doing in the markets. They say, 'You do whatever it is better than my company, and I'd really love to be a part of the team.'
The better you did, the more people want to be a part of that process. I love getting e-mails from people saying, 'I lived in Pensacola and I moved to Destin or Cincinnati or Fort Wayne, and I loved your theaters and I'm so happy to find you have a theater in the market I'm going to.'
Create a strong corporate culture.
We started from scratch. We started very small. We tried to grow internally as much as we can, but we've also tried to look around our industry at businesses that are similar in some way ways and try to attract the best people we can and bring them into the company.
We have to do a good job of training our people, helping them all step up to the next level but also looking around from time to time for people from the outside.
We try to recruit smart, aggressive, active people that really want to be a part of a great company. We provide them with terrific managers, with different seminars and management meetings during the course of the year, and then we have a group of senior managers that travel to all our theatres on a very regular basis.
We try to do as well as we can every day. We want to make this a great place to work. We want to make this a great place to go to the movies. We want to create the best environment that we can, so we try and create a really wonderful place to work.
Nobody has to come to work for us, or anybody else, every day, but that's the difference between a really good company and a not so good company they keep, they get and they retain really good people.
What we try to do is attract the best people we can and create the best working environment we can so the best people want to stay here and don't want to go somewhere else. This is a great place to work if you want to be the best. It's a lousy to place to work if you don't.
It starts with the way you treat them. We try to treat everyone here with respect, with understanding, with compassion you want a place where you feel good about coming to work every day. Beyond that, bonus programs, benefits programs, equity in the company, good working environment.
This is a great place to work if you want to be the best. It's a lousy to place to work if you don't.
How to reach: Rave Motion Pictures Inc., www.ravemotionpictures.com
Terdema L. Ussery II
That caught the attention of the Dallas Mavericks, which brought him into its game nine years ago with one purpose to lead change. And that he has done.
In his first year, he led the funding campaign and secured naming rights for American Airlines Center. Since his arrival, the franchise has grown to $117 million in annual revenue, according to Hoover's Online, and increased its corporate sponsorships, ticket sales, television revenue and community activity.
On top of that, he and Mavericks owner Mark Cuban started HDNet, the nation's first high-definition television network, of which he also serves as CEO. Ussery spoke with Smart Business about how to lead change and succeed in business.
On leading change: The most important thing to recognize when there is change is that it cannot be dictatorial because automatically, there's going to be a lot of anxiety among staff. Change, by definition, brings anxiety because everyone wants to know, when the paradigm shifts, what does it mean for me?
Communication is critically important in letting people know, honestly, what the purpose of the change is, what the goals and objectives are, and how that person may or may not fit in, and then giving them the opportunity to show that they want to fit into the new paradigm. You really have to spend time talking to people, communicating with people, reassuring people, and for those that have a different agenda, getting them out before they create too much damage internally.
We've seen some of that, where people are not happy with change so they want to, in some ways, sabotage change, and that happens in different ways. It's just being vigilant about knowing who your staff is and knowing people who are really trying to get after it and knowing those who aren't happy about the change and are going to be disruptive.
On hiring and managing employees: Hire the best people that you can and give them as much room to run and do what they need to do. Multiple tasks require folks with multiple talents.
Instead of looking for people with an expertise in one area who can only operate in that area, you look for people who are extremely bright and agile, who may have his own expertise but have the ability to learn quickly and do other things you need. It's more hiring people who are bright, that are passionate, who have the ability to go across zones if you need them to.
I don't believe too much in micromanaging. It's important to empower smart people so that they have a sense of accomplishment, of fulfillment, so we try very hard to let the people that are in this company run the company. We're more of a forgiveness organization than a permission organization.
We're not a company that sits around, has a lot of meetings, spends a lot of time betting whether or not this is or isn't a good idea. If someone comes to the table with a good idea that we think is going to be impactful, we move pretty quickly. And if it fails, we can always ask for forgiveness, but we don't want to stifle people's creativity.
Bottom-line focus is fine, but at the end of the day, you want people who are fulfilled by their jobs because those people are going to do the best. When people aren't being paid, when the 40 hours is up, are people still buzzing about what they're doing? Are they still happy to be at work? Are they still trying to get their jobs finished, not because they're going to be graded down or they're going to get overtime, but because they're enjoying what they're doing and they're excited?
It's more than a bottom-line focus. It's really enjoying having a sense of purpose and feeling as though you're making a contribution to something larger than yourself that's meaningful to people.
On balancing life and work: You can get so caught up in what it is you're doing professionally that you forget about the other side. Something has usually happened that has jarred me and made me realize the importance of trying to have balance.
I try to stay cognizant of the fact that you've got to stay healthy, and not just physically but emotionally and psychologically, to be the best you can at work. I think I'm pretty good about telling guys to get away, to get out of the office, go take a long weekend, go do whatever to refresh yourself. Trying to remind them keeps me aware, as well.
When I was at Princeton, my first year there, myself and a couple guys pulled an all-nighter to prepare for an exam that was a badge of honor, right? But I didn't do well on the exam. One of my roommates, who had a different methodology of studying, which was just to study consistently, was doing a lot better than me, and it dawned on me that this whole idea of cramming and going til you can go no more is not a good thing.
In the workplace, it's the same thing you can work until you burn yourself out, but then you're doing nobody any good.
On succeeding: The second you believe that there is some unalienable right to exist, it's the second that the clock is ticking to your demise and ultimate downfall. Every day, one of the things we try to instill in people is a sense of urgency.
The second we start believing because we're winning or because we're good and it doesn't matter the industry the second you start reading your own press and buying into it is the beginning of the end. You lose your competitive edge. You lose your ability to be flexible. You lose your ability to listen to your customers and what they're saying.
It's waking up every morning and being in an attack mode as opposed to a passive mode aggressively going after the things that you need to get done that day to be successful, and when you get into that kind of pattern, it makes it easier to multitask. It's trying to be better today than you were yesterday.
If you can do that, if you can slice your life that thinly, then it helps keep you going. I don't look out six, seven months and say, 'I have to get this done.' I say, 'How good was I today? What can I do to get better tomorrow?'
No one stands at the base of Everest, starts climbing it and stares at the top all the way up. They'd never make it. You come up with an effective plan and focus on execution.
Keep your head down and focus on taking great steps because any one misstep can cost you your life. Focus on executing every day the best you can, and eventually, the air gets thinner and it gets cooler, and one day you're going to take that next step and it's not there, and you've made it to the top.
Advice for new CEOs: Start off the job by doing nothing but listening. Spend the first few weeks just listening the secretaries, the senior management, the middle management, your customers, all the constituents that are going to impact your life.
Just listen to what their concerns are, what their issues are, what their goals and objectives are. What are the issues? Are you having fun? Are we delivering the way you thought we would?
Then distill that information, and from there, start talking about planning for the future. You'd be surprise at some of the stuff you hear.
How to reach: Dallas Mavericks, www.dallasmavs.com
Stripping the waste
It needed to improve its effectiveness, profitability and efficiency. To do so, the company began a new continuous improvement program called Business Excellence, which focuses on reducing waste in both the company's business and manufacturing processes.
During a weeklong Business Excellence "boot camp," the team focused on lean manufacturing, problem-solving and statistical data analysis techniques. The program provided one common, structured method for improvement and generated a clear bias for action and results. It also gave all leaders clear, simultaneous communication of expectations to eliminate miscommunications.
The teams applied the knowledge they learned in a series of kaizen events on both the shop floor and in the front office, including Quick Changeover SMED, Value Stream Mapping, Lean Office and 5-S Workplace Organization. Following the activities, the teams were able to better identify root causes of waste and inefficiency and eliminate those sources.
Thomas Steel Strip did not want the Business Excellence Program to stop there, though. It has become an ongoing endeavor for the company, which has three full-time coaches to oversee and monitor the day-to-day progress. These coaches also work to continue driving the initiative forward, and the company has seen a great impact since implementing the program. It has cut the number of line stops it experiences by 50 percent and capacity on key bottleneck units in its nickel plating line has increased by 13 percent,both without investing in any capital costs.
One of the most significant impacts has been in Thomas Steel Strip's work with customers. Before the Business Excellence program, it took the company approximately 30 days to respond to customer inquiries. After implementing the program, the company now responds in about three days.
When all of these improvements meshed, it created a $500,000 savings in the first year of the program, and nearly $900,000 in savings to date. Thomas Steel Strip looks toward the future to continue developing the Business Excellence program and improving its processes.
How to reach: Thomas Steel Strip, (330) 841-6222
Worldwide safety
Exposure to these international risks does not require a company to have an international location. Employees traveling abroad or simply sending faxes or other correspondence overseas can create an international exposure for a company.
Regardless of the degree of the exposure, a company may be uninsured or underinsured with a domestic insurance policy. Even the worldwide endorsement used by many U.S. insurers can leave gaps in your coverage.
Companies should thoroughly review their current insurance programs and make sure prospective carriers fully understand the nuances of the global market and provide a broad range of products and services to address the unique exposures of international business.
Four key areas where due diligence should be performed before going global include the following.
Underwriting expertise
Does the insurance carrier understand the local market? This includes legal jurisdictions, economic climate and the language.
Various countries have unique nuances and insurance requirements that range from environmental impairment in Germany to natural catastrophe pools throughout Europe. The insurance carrier should also be able to keep you abreast of any major changes in the legal and economic climate.
Specialized programs
The foreign landscape opens a box of exposures rarely considered.
Currency devaluation, political risk and tax liability are all issues. An insurance carrier should be able to offer a wide array of products to meet your needs as overseas expansion occurs. Ideally, a company should be able to grow with their insurance carrier from the early beginnings in international operations to full manufacturing and service operations based overseas.
A routine overseas business trip may not be as simple as it first appears. As an employer, you must consider workers' compensation issues, automobile liability and property theft exposures. Purchasing these lines of coverage individually may be costly, but many insurance carriers can package these programs to ensure adequacy in coverage along several lines.
This simple package may later require local admitted insurance policies (those recognized and required by local countries) as your company grows. This requires an insurance carrier that understands the local insurance market and legal requirements imposed on business owners.
Global network
While it is important that your insurance partner provide a wide array of international insurance products, it is equally important that they support their products with an experienced global network of service providers.
Your carrier should provide local claims handling ability and medical assistance programs to help in the event of an injury or sickness overseas. Examples of incidents that might require global services include:
- A business traveler has a car accident and the doctor does not speak English
- A business traveler is robbed and needs help re-establishing identification
- A business traveler gets arrested and jailed for a seemingly minor infraction
Financial strength
In 2003, nearly 25 insurers went insolvent. In addition, many carriers left the international insurance arena, or decided to reduce their global services, which adversely affected the value of their product.
Carriers should have the financial stability and commitment to fulfill their obligations and be a long-term competitor in the international market. It is crucial that the carrier have the financial strength to make good on its promise to pay and be there in the hour of need. Common insurance carrier financial strength rating benchmarks are provided by A.M. Best, Standard & Poor's and Moody's.
John Sence has more than 10 years of experience in the insurance industry. Since joining Schiff, Kreidler-Shell, the Midwest's leading independent insurance agency, he has developed key areas of expertise in international insurance and construction. For a review of your current insurance program, contact Sence at (513) 977-3198 or firstname.lastname@example.com.


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by liamdawe 5 hours ago
It seems like we are getting quite a few old gems nowadays, although this is most likely using Dosbox it's still nice to be able to have sales for it counted for Linux.
by liamdawe 7 hours ago
Today I took a look at Insanity's Blade a game Kickstarted at the end of last year. Insanity's Blade is a real retro-game in the sense that it feels like I'm playing on a Sega Megadrive.
Tags: Video Steam Indie Game Greenlight
by liamdawe 9 hours ago
It wins the award for the weirdest title of the day, Rube Works: The Official Rube Goldberg Invention Game previously on mobiles is now on the desktop and it's looking just as odd.
by liamdawe 9 hours ago
So, if you are living under a rock let me remind you on something: Gearbox president Randy Pitchford stated he would talk to some people about a possibility of a Linux port for Borderlands 2. Sadly though as I expected from Randy it probably won't happen.
Tags: Editorial
by liamdawe 9 hours ago
As a music lover and a fan of Tower Defence games this has me interested. Sentinel is an interactive audio tower defense game. It mixes strategic game play with a dynamic music system.
Tags: Humble Store Indie Game Music Tower Defence
by Cheeseness 11 hours ago
The SteamLUG (Steam Linux User Group) events calendar for May is up, featuring Nuclear Dawn, Frozen Synapse, Gear Up, Sanctum 2 and more!
by liamdawe 22 hours ago
Starsector previously known as Starfarer is a game I have been following since early 2011 and I am glad to say it's still being fully worked on. Starsector is an open-world single-player space-combat, roleplaying, exploration and economic game.
Tags: Survival Strategy Simulation Sandbox
by liamdawe April 22, 2014 at 12:32 pm
This is a long named game, "Because this is literally the best we could come up with: Retribution" hah nice. It's a very pretty looking arcade shooter and quite random (you can fire cheese!).
Tags: Itch.io Indie Game Arcade Action
by liamdawe April 22, 2014 at 12:14 pm
We mentioned before about a couple big names talking up OpenGL and how to unlock many times performance gains with it, the GDC video is now up in the vault for all to see.
Tags: Editorial
by liamdawe April 22, 2014 at 10:35 am
Editors Pick Project Zomboid is one of the few survival games that actually shows a lot of promise, not only because of the frequent updates, but it now has online support too. This latest version adds even more new features.
Tags: Zombies Survival Steam Sandbox
by liamdawe April 22, 2014 at 10:20 am
AMD have pushed out a public Release Candidate of their 14.4 driver for users of AMD graphics chips. Nice to see them include change-logs now.
Tags: Hardware
by Lekszun April 21, 2014 at 7:57 pm
A modification for Portal 2 that allows you to manipulate time and interact with yourself to solve puzzles.
Tags: Steam Puzzle Free Game Coming Soon
by liamdawe April 21, 2014 at 5:51 pm
Contested Space is one of the more interesting titles to appear recently, I've played around with it and it's actually pretty fun, especially fun is designing your own ships.
Tags: Simulation Sandbox MMO Indie Game
by liamdawe April 21, 2014 at 5:26 pm
Star Citizen is a game you cannot help but get excited over. A new video has surfaced from PAX where parts of the game where shown off and it doesn't disappoint.
Tags: Simulation MMO CryEngine Coming Soon


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album is a free HTML/XHTML photo album and gallery generator that supports themes/skins. You can choose different themes or write your own to get different layouts and styles. It creates all your thumbnails (including directory thumbnails) and descends into directories so you can organize your photos. See the home page for more examples. album is also multi-lingual, with many languages being added all the time. N.B.: The purchase link is provided for donations; the software does not cost anything.
Ariadne is a Web Application Framework and Content Management System built with PHP. It allows you to build complex Web applications and sites with ease. It takes care of the mundane stuff like internationalization, security, user management, templating, data retrieval and storage, caching, and site management. It stores content in a structured object store that can be accessed through an extensive filesystem-like API.
Advanced Web Statistics (AWStats) is a free powerful Web server logfile analyzer (Perl script) that shows you all your Web statistics including visits, unique visitors, pages, hits, rush hours, search engines, keywords used to find your site, robots, broken links, and more. It works with both IIS 5.0+ and Apache Web server log files as a CGI and/or from the command line. It also supports around 40 languages.
Back-End is a multilingual Web publishing/content management system. Articles, links, and photo galleries can use a common hierarchy, with the look and feel defined using templates. Content administrators manage the content of the Web site through a browser based editor as text, HTML, Wiki, or using a WYSIWYG editor. Add-on modules include on-line advocacy tools and a bibliography.
bkmrkconv will convert Netscape's bookmarks.html file into a series of interconnected HTML pages which can be put online. The pages are heavily customizable and examples are included for a Yahoo-like portal. The program is useful for accessing your bookmarks from a remote machine or even just for making your links look prettier.
Dead Link Check (DLC) is a Perl script designed to find information on validity of HTTP references. The script may use/generate a cache file for avoiding redoing network requests if the user wants to check added entries. The script works by reading entries from a file (or a list of links from the command line) and output results in file(s) (or STDOUT). DLC was created as an extension to Public Bookmark Generator (PBM), but can be used on its own.
dolt is a cross platform HTML preprocessor, which replaces specially formatted HTML comments with the contents of another file. It works much the same way as SSI, but without the server requirements, as files are processed before they are uploaded to a Web server. For example, it allows you to update a menu on every page by changing one file. This gives you some of the benefits of frames without any of the problems.
A simulation of major league baseball.
A library and a tool for a read-only access on a Smaky disk.


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